Committee to scrutinise Administrative Review Tribunal Bills

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has commenced an inquiry into the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill 2023 (ART Bill) and the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No.1) Bill 2023 (Consequential and Transitional Bill).

Chair of the committee, Susan Templeman MP said, "The committee is seeking written submissions by 18 January 2024 to assist in its scrutiny of the ART Bill and Consequential and Transitional Bill to ensure the bills achieve the Government’s policy objectives and do not have unintended consequences, but will accept submissions after that date."

The ART Bill would establish the Administrative Review Tribunal (Tribunal) and set out its key features, processes and procedures. The Consequential and Transitional Bill repeals the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, makes consequential amendments to a number of Commonwealth Acts and provides for the transition of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s (AAT) operations, caseload and staff to the Tribunal. The Bills are intended to, among other things:

• provide for a mechanism of review that is fair and just; timely, informal and inexpensive; accessible and responsive; improve the transparency and quality of government decision-making and improve public trust and confidence in the tribunal;
• re-establish the Administrative Review Council;
• retain the jurisdiction of the AAT within the tribunal and essential modifications to the operation of the merits review framework;
• promote consistency and simplicity by repealing special arrangements that overlap, duplicate or unnecessarily displace core provisions of the ART Bill.

The bills would implement all three recommendations of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the performance and integrity of Australia’s administrative review system, four recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme and two recommendations of the Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia's Visa System.

Further information about the inquiry is available on the Committee's webpage.

 

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